


Shelter Short 7 | Coming Home

by starlightelixir



Series: Shelter Shorts [7]
Category: Shelter (Webcomic), Shelter (Webtoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Implied abuse, No Plot/Plotless, Not necessarily romantic but can be read as such, anyways!, maybe canon compliant i mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 20:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20216128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightelixir/pseuds/starlightelixir
Summary: The moment Pom opened the door and saw Ruka, she threw her arms around his neck, herself into his arms, and suddenly, it felt like she had returned home.





	Shelter Short 7 | Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> for me, it's august, and it's really fricken hot out, so [hands you a winter/cold-weather fic and leaves]

Pom hadn’t changed her address since highschool--well, to be exact, her  _ family  _ hadn’t. They weren’t exactly the most accepting of the “delinquent from highschool” keeping tabs on their daughter, but they accepted it upon seeing how happy it made her.

_ Maybe I’m too early,  _ Ruka thought to himself, standing in the doorway, snow steeped on both sides of him.  _ Are they even back from the airport?  _ He could clearly see a car parked, the snow recently removed off of it. He shifted, pulling his scarf a bit more over his neck as he glanced around, hoping, silently praying, that someone-- _ anyone _ , at this point--would answer the door.

To Ruka, an agonizing amount of time passed, but the minute the door swung open, it revealed a slightly unhinged--not stressed, just beyond the normal levels of “casual” one would expect in winter--Pom; her hair was tied back in a messy bun, her t-shirt and shorts completely contradicting the outside weather--but it was  _ her _ . It was her in the flesh, not through a screen--though, neither of them had any complaints about their near-nightly voice and occasional video calls.

And before Ruka could even think, before he could react, even open his mouth, she threw herself at him, her arms around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder--and he instinctively returned the tight hug. He clung to her, lowering his own face to bury it in Pom’s shoulder.

“I missed you.” He murmured under his breath, clenching the fabric of her t-shirt.

“I missed you, too, Stubborn Kitten.” She responded, her hands finding a spot in Ruka’s hair to softly run her fingers through.

The chill of the outside world started to set in, especially when Pom noticed that she had moved herself onto the concrete of her porch--she was suddenly stricken with the aching numbness that comes with being barefoot in the cold.

“Aren’t you c--”

Before Ruka could even finish, Pom pulled him inside, a shrill noise escaping her mouth. “I’m  _ freezing _ \--god, why didn’t I at least put on shoes,” She whined, shutting the door behind them and settling back in on the carpeted floor beyond the wooden entrance. After a moment of staring at each other, taking in each other’s features and expressions after being separated for what felt like decades, Pom spoke up again, “so, are you just gonna stand there with your coat… scarf… Everything?”

“Sorry, I--”

“What’d I tell you about apologizing?” Pom elbowed his side gently, halting his progress in taking off his coat. “Just what are you not supposed to do?”

Ruka groaned, shrugging his arms out of his sleeves and tossing the jacket on the nearest rack. “Apologize.”

“M-hm,” Pom huffed, folding her arms. “C’mon, you know how I feel about that. You’ve been doing better, but…”

“Aha, I haven’t really had you around to be on my case a lot for it.” Ruka offered an anxious smile as Pom v softly linked her arm with his. “... I know I don’t have to walk on eggshells around you. I know.” His smile slowly shifted--from anxious, to content, loving, and gentle. He offered the best reassurance he could, reminding himself in the process--this was  _ Pomona _ , of all people. He could let his worries slip away, if he really wanted to.

“Good!” Pom smiled brightly, bumping her face against his shoulder as he relaxed further. “It’s been way too long since we spent any time together… My family’s out--I know you probably wouldn’t want to see them anyway--so, we can either stay down here, or we can go up to my room? They haven’t really bothered much of my stuff. Surprising, right?”

“It’s up to you?”

“C’mon.” She removed her arm, opting to take his hand instead, before pulling him up the stairs.

“Toss your bag wherever.” Despite her words, she gestured at the rolling desk chair set up in front of a laptop; she really did mean ‘wherever’--she just felt the chair would be the most convenient.

Naturally, Ruka obliged, putting his shoulder-strap bag in the chair before slowly laying on the bed next to her; once he was down and settled, his head laid against his arms, Pom rolled herself over, propping her head up with her fist. “So, anything interesting happen while I’ve been gone?”

“You know I would’ve texted you about it as soon as it happened.” Ruka grinned, craning his neck just enough for her to see. “It’s the same old stuff. I don’t know what you expected to happen here-- _ you’re _ the one going to school, though. You’ve gotta have something going on.”

“I have tests.” She groaned in response, allowing herself to faceplant onto the pillow in front of them. “I have tests, and I have homework. You know what else I have? Roommates that keep inviting me to parties when I,” she raised herself again, slowly reaching her free hand out to poke Ruka’s nose. “Would much rather be spending time talking to my best friend.”

He laughed in response, moving a hand to catch her finger. “Seriously, you don’t have any hot dates, or anything else?”

“Does this count? I feel like this should count.”

“Oh, shut up.” He nudged her with his leg, only to have her catch it, gently holding it in-place over her own. “Hey!”

Pom laughed, still holding his leg. “Come on, are you surprised? You caught my hand a second ago, what did you expect?”

“Okay, okay, you got me, that’s pretty fair.” He leaned forward a bit, relaxing his leg and letting it now fall--gently, of course--over Pom’s, as he gently pressed his forehead against hers.

Pom let out a soft, content sigh, softly rubbing her nose against his as she shut her eyes; they laid like that, in peace, silent, still, and content, for what felt like an eternity--an eternity well-spent to both of them.

The comfortable silence, which could have gone on forever, was bound to be broken eventually--Ruka shivered, despite the warmth of the room, the warmth of his sweater, and the warmth of Pom next to him.

“Oh, are you--hey,” Pom moved to sit up and scoot back onto the sheet, peeling the blanket that had laid under her back enough to slip herself under it. “Come on, let’s get under the blanket? It sucks to be cold, I know you’re probably cold a lot…” She smiled a bit. “You always stay cold, anyway.”

Ruka smiled a bit as he shifted, moving himself under the heavy comforter with her. The two immediately pressed close once again, their arms finding each other’s waists as they held onto each other tightly. “You know I’m almost always cold--”

“Yeah, and you won’t complain!” Pom puffed her cheeks out, bonking her forehead against his before flashing a short-lived grin. “... I know you have a hard time bringing that kinda thing up, but just like… Try to make yourself at home here? Especially  _ here _ , in my room--it’s just the two of us. Nobody’s gonna bother either of us, I promise. So, speak up if you need something!”

He chuckled a bit--it was one thing to hear her protectiveness, her mulishness--over the phone, but in person? It was always a treat, and one that he hadn’t experienced for far too long. “Alright, alright--I’ll--”

“Swear you’re gonna mention it next time?” She reached out, lightly taking one of Ruka’s hands as she stared intensely into his eyes, their foreheads still pressed together.

“I swear.”

“Thanks.” Her relaxed grin returned, and she lightened the press of their foreheads slightly. “I’m gonna be here for a week, so… If you ever wanna hang out with me--when you’re not stuck at work, then you can come visit, or we can go and do something?”

“I’m gonna be stuck at work a lot this week. It’s been busy lately.” He murmured, giving her hand a soft squeeze.

“Alright, well, I’ll come and visit you, then?”

Ruka had to admit, if not to Pom, then at least to himself, that every time she came to the diner, he felt anxious, worried--he didn’t want her anywhere near his uncle. The other part of him… Looked forward to the times that she would be there, visiting, talking to him over the counter as he poured her coffee--it drowned out the rest of the world, if only for a moment, and brought him peace.

She never loitered--not unless Ruka specifically asked or hinted at it. She knew how diners worked--they tried to get customers in and out as fast as they could--never outright rushing them, but the anxiety and ushering was almost  _ always _ present in every diner--and she  _ really _ didn’t want to risk causing Ruka any more pain from being a minor inconvenience.

“Sure.” He smiled, giving her hand another soft squeeze--one that, this time, she returned. For a brief moment, he thought she caught the anxiety in his eyes, but when she drew a deep breath and shut her own, relief washed over him. He found himself closing his own eyes, slowing his breathing, and actually falling into a decent sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> anyways i rly just wanted to write something super soft bc i deeply appreciate the trust, care, and vulnerability these two share in the actual series. like, whether you view it as platonic, friends to lovers, whatever else, just... in the webcomic, these two are so soft and good to each other.
> 
> i realize now, 5:22am, as im posting this, that there isnt a Single Instance of ruka using pom's nickname (stealthy walrus), OOPS. it'll be fine. anyways this is a long end note, sorry about that, you can check my tumblr (softsnowdrop) if you wanna know smthn abt me/find more of my wild stuff outside of ao3/get previews for fics that ive been working on/etc.


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